Marcos off to Malaysia for ASEAN Summit

Metro Manila, Philippines - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. left for Malaysia on Sunday, May 25, to attend the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

Marcos took off from the Presidential Hangar in Villamor Air Base and is expected to arrive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with his wife First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

“I look forward to a very productive and constructive consultation with our fellow member states in ASEAN,” the president said before leaving.

Marcos will attend nine high-level engagements across the two-day summit, including the plenary and retreat sessions of the ASEAN Summit, interface meetings with parliamentarians, youth leaders, and business councils, and the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN Vision 2045.

Possible bilateral meetings with counterparts from Laos, Kuwait, and Vietnam are also being arranged.

Marcos is set to also lead the 16th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit and participate in the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council and ASEAN-GCC-China Summits.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier confirmed that Marcos will reiterate the country’s adherence to international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral award, as he joins fellow Southeast Asian leaders and dialogue partners.

The Philippines is also expected to push for the early conclusion of the long-delayed Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, following the 2023 commitment of ASEAN foreign ministers to fast-track negotiations.

Marcos appointed Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III in charge of operations as he attends summit.